FCC Moves Forward on White Spaces

The agency begins the process of establishing databases that will tell white space devices where existing television signals exist. White space devices are expected to deliver broadband services in the interference buffer zones between TV signals.

A year later, the FCC finally moved to make the November 2008 vote a reality,
approving Nov. 25 to create a database that identifies incumbent users entitled
to interference protection, including full power and low power TV stations. The
database will tell a TV band device which TV channels are vacant and can be
used at its location.

White spaces devices, which advocates belief will create new competitors in
delivering broadband services, must include a geo-location capability and the
capability to access the database. The database also will be used to register
the locations of fixed TV band devices and protected locations and channels of
incumbent services that are not currently recorded in FCC databases.

The FCC also decided to designate one or more database administrators from the
private sector to create and operate TV band databases, which will be a
privately owned and operated service. Database administrators may charge fees
to register fixed TV band devices and temporary broadcast auxiliary fixed links
and to provide lists of available channels to TV band devices.

"Selecting an administrator for the white spaces database is a crucial
step toward bringing consumers another choice in a restrictive broadband
marketplace," Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge, said in a
statement. "We expect that use of the white spaces spectrum will foster
innovation and create jobs as new devices and services become available."

The FCC white spaces decision came
after a six-year proceeding at the agency that pitted broadcasters and a wide
array of entertainment interests that were using the spectrum for the operation
of wireless microphones against such powerhouse technology firms as Google, Microsoft, Intel, Motorola and Intel. Both
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google's Larry Page personally lobbied the FCC in
favor of the use of white spaces.

The FCC's testing of devices
operating in the white spaces was the cause of much dispute during the FCC
proceeding. The FCC began testing white space devices with mixed results in January 2008
using a prototype device supplied by Microsoft. By July, the agency moved the
tests outdoors using devices from Motorola, Philips, Adaptrum and InfoComm
International. By October of last year, the FCC said testing proved white
spaces devices would not cause interference with existing television broadcasts.